Simplicity
by Miss Crookshanks
Summary: Draco has only ever seen how complicated things are, and Luna the simple. Can they realize it before it's too late? Draco-Luna one shot


"I need a potions teacher, Mr. Malfoy" McGonagall said one warm summer day. Draco lifted his eyebrow as he regarded her.

It was six years since the end of the war, and five years since he had graduated from Hogwarts. Harry Potter appealed to the ministry and had given Draco another chance to live his own life. As result, Draco was reluctantly grateful.

Not that he wanted to be.

"I'll teach." Draco said, looking at the latest leader of the great school with a passive tone, his mask perfectly disguising his need for the job.

"Good. You'll be given residence rooms and must be in them by August 20." McGonagall said. She gestured to the door, dismissing Draco. He stood, nodded to her and glanced around at all of the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses, before turning on his heel and slowly exiting.

'Now I have somewhere to call home,' he thought to himself as he walked through the corridors, remembering all of the things that had happened within the stone walls. Lost in memories, he was only able to exit Hogwarts because his feet remembered which way to go.

"Hello, Draco." A misty voice said. He looked up to see Luna Lovegood standing in the hall in front of him. He felt his heart quicken as he examined her standing there in a dark green dress that nearly reached the floor and her peep blue cloak in her arms. She had a small silver band holding back her long blond hair. Her wide blue eyes contemplated Draco as he looking her up and down, taking note of her pale skin and slim waist.

"H-Hello," he replied, giving Luna a nod before continuing towards the door. The hairs on the back of his neck stayed upright as he could have sworn she had turned to stare after him.

His mind stayed focused on her as he tried to find a place to stay for the night. He wondered how her skin would feel if he had the courage to reach out and touch it. His dreams were filled with her, an image of her smiling face, a picture of her running through a field and so many other pictures and ideas.

He woke with a start at her imagined scream. He looked around at the other men in the room. Glad that tonight he had been able to get a bed. He sighed and laid back down, staring at up at the celling and listening to the sounds of all the other people, sleeping, crying, sniffing or snoring.

'Maybe I'm too lucky.' He thought, closing his eyes and trying to hold in the sobs as tears tracked their way down his cheek.

Luna was walking up to Hogwarts in her own dreamy, slow way. She had been asked to take a job as the new charms teacher the week before, and was about to move in. she smiled slowly as she noticed the grass around her was almost the same shade of dark green as her dress. She looked up and saw the sky was almost the same color as her favorite cloak. Spinning around in a circle to enjoy the summer day, she began to hum a song.

She stepped into the castle and began to walk, enjoying the silence of the corridors. She was going up to the headmistress' office to receive the assignment of her living space. She was nearly brought down to earth when she heard footsteps from a short distance, looking around to see Draco Malfoy lost in his thoughts, treading down the path.

"Hello, Draco," she said, catching his attention. He seemed to freeze as he looked at her with almost pure shock across his face. His eyes travelled from the floor and up her body, going above her eyes momentarily before meeting them.

His shock and time of examination allowed Luna to watch him, to see his tattered clothing and slightly pungent smell. She also saw how his hair fell across his face, hiding his eyes from view, but till allowing him to see.

"H-Hello," he said to her, almost jerking himself away. He walked away almost seeming to walk faster when Luna turned to watch him.

'Poor boy. Must have been hard for him.' She thought before her mind lifted out of her body again, hardly casting a thought in any other direction as she wondered what had happened to him in the last five years.

McGonagall showed Luna the rooms she would have, a somewhat large suite with a large window. Luna thanked the older woman with a smile and asked of Draco's rooms.

"He'll be next door." McGonagall said, turning and going back to her office. 'Maybe we can be friends.' Luna thought, waving her wand and watching all of her belongings fly into their places. She sat in her window and watched the sun set, watching all of the colors change and the blue sky shift into the glittering purple of night. She fell asleep in the window, dozing as she dreamt of Draco, laughing and smiling with her, enjoying the sunshine of the day and walking through the rain, letting it drip off their faces as they danced in the mist. Her vision of him was happy, but she was also woken by an imagined scream. Waking with a start she found herself hitting the cold stone floor, a bruise forming on her arm that shone black.

'Screaming. I don't like screaming. Such a grating sound.' She thought, slowly getting up off of the floor and dusting off her dress. 'I wonder if he hates screaming.' Was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep, spread out on her bed.

"Mr. Malfoy, you barely went to school! It's not possible for you to have landed a teaching job at a high-end private school!" the proprietor of the center said when Draco told them to give his space to another person, recommending the man with three sons who all shared one bed.

"I have. I was asked to take the job. It's unlikely I'll come back in need of a place to stay again." Draco spoke his words and turned out the door, his one bag holding all of his things. He knew that there were four other places to go and visit before he could return to Hogwarts, including the ministry of Magic to receive money for new clothes. All of the others stared after him as he left, knowing he was lucky, all of them wishing they could have the same luck and earn a well-paying job, or any job for that matter.

Draco gathered all of his things, causing some uproar in every place, offering his bed or locker or corner to someone else. Enough people gave him spare clothing that he didn't have to visit the Ministry, giving each person who handed him something a sad but grateful smile and a firm handshake or hug.

"You did it, son. You're on your way out." The old woman who brought him to the places that had kept him alive said. He smiled, putting down his bag and coat long enough to give her a large hug.

"I'd be dead if it wasn't for you." He said, giving her a true smile. She hobbled to a stand, straightening Draco's shirt collar in a motherly way, hardly able to reach past his shoulders.

"Be a good boy, and don't forget about us." Were her last words. Draco picked his things up again and walking out the door, tears began to fall. Looking forward, proudly displaying his tears, people stared at the full grown man walking down the streets with tear-tracked and grimy cheeks.

The last Muggle to actually look at him was a small girl, hardly five years old, homeless like he had been the day before. He smiled at her and gave her a peppermint that one person had given him.

"Don't forget to believe that things can get better." He told her before watching her run off down an alley, crushing the candy, sharing it with other children at the darkened end. Draco disapparated to Hogsmeade, a small smile on his face as he looked up at his future and past, the one place that had always given him a home, and never minded his pride and trouble.

'Home.' He thought as he stepped through the gates, breathing in deeply, savoring the nature and magic that filled the air. 'Hogwarts is my home.'

Luna was staring out her window again, watching the grass ripple in the breeze. She smiled at the sight, following the dip of the long grass. Her eyes paused when she saw someone walking towards the castle. She leaned forward through her window to see that it was Draco, already seeming happier than he did the previous day.

Luna hurried down to where Draco was in her own floating manner, meeting him where he had stopped to look up at Hogwarts. The wind blew at his hair, sweeping it away from his face. Luna took slow steps up to him, a small, graceful smile on her face.

Draco stopped to stare up at the high towers of Hogwarts, ignoring the wind that pushed at him.

"Do you feel the wind?" a voice asked, pulling Draco's attention to Luna. She was wearing a white dress that extended to just below her knees, and no shoes.

"Why should I feel the wind? It's pushing at me like everyone does." Draco watched Luna as he spoke, his voice quiet.

"The wind doesn't push." Luna said, tilting her head. As she spoke the wind blew at the hair, and part of it was blown into her face. "The wind does what it wants and does everything for a reason."

Draco just starred at her, seeing the truth in her words. He slowly closed his eyes and felt the wind's touch. He paid attention to how the wind moved his hair and whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes again to look at Luna. Her face was almost completely obscured by her hair. Draco reached out and pulled her hair out of her face, tucking the long strands behind her ear.

"Thank you." She said, smiling at him before turning to walk down to the lake. His eyes followed her before Draco picked up his things and went inside the castle to see McGonagall.

Luna stopped in front of him; his eyes set on the high towers, and watched him for a moment.

"Do you feel the wind?" she asked. He looked down, eyes flicking up and down again. Luna glanced down herself to see her bare toes peeking out from under her white skirt. She looked up again to meet Draco's eyes.

"Why should I feel the wind?" he said slowly. He spoke quietly, making it hard to hear him over the wind. "It's pushing at me like everyone does."

Luna paused before answering. "The wind doesn't push. The wind does what it wants and does everything for a reason." She had let the breeze blow her hair into her face. It obscured her eyes from sight, yet allowed her to see Draco close his eyes. He stood still as Luna let her hair cover more and more of her face. She watched him open his eyes again and reach out his hand. Her heart began to thump faster, blood thundering in her ears as his fingers moved closer. His fingers brushed across her face gently, causing Luna's breath to catch in her throat.

"Thank you." Was all she could say after he placed her hair behind her ear. Luna smiled at Draco before turning towards the lake, heat still frantically beating.

"The only other person in this area is Luna Lovegood." Professor McGonagall said as she led Draco to his small suite. She pointed out Luna's door and told Draco to go and fetch Luna when he was done so she wouldn't forget to eat her dinner Draco nodded and waited for the headmistress to leave before putting his things away.

Looking around, he was slightly dismayed by how small the rooms were. His bedroom hardly had enough space for a bed and a dresser, and his bathroom didn't even have a proper bath. His office wasn't all that much better, but it did have two bookshelves and a large window. He opened the window in an attempt to let some of the musty smell in his rooms out, leaning out of the window to feel the breeze again. Opening his eyes he scanned towards the lake, looking for Luna's blond hair or white dress. He saw a glimmer of light under an old weeping willow tree by the shore. He left and began to walk through the castle, down to the door that led outside.

Luna was standing at the very edge of the lake when Draco reached her, being very still. He stood behind her for a moment, noting how beautiful she looked before taking the last few steps it took to stand next to her.

"Aren't the waves beautiful?" she said slowly, Draco looked sideways at her before watching the waves move gently across the surface of the lake.

"Yes, they are beautiful." He said quietly. He stood relaxed nest to her, breathing slowly and listening to the wind blowing in his ears and the water shifting the pebbles as the waves hit the shore. He didn't see Luna turn and begin to stare at him, examining his face.

"You don't see beauty easily." Luna said, still staring at Draco. "You've been surrounded by so much ugliness that you don't know how to see beauty."

Looking sideways at her, Draco sighed. "No, I can't see beauty in everything. I can see the beauty of a person or the beauty in things like the wind or the waves on the lake." He turned fully to her, becoming aware that Luna had taken a step closer to him, the distance between them hardly a foot. "But I want to see the hidden beauty in everything."

She tilted her head to look at him, searching his eyes for any denial. Slowly she began to smile, and reached out a hand and grasped Draco's hand. "What a better place that the forest?"

He smiled widely at her as she walked into the fringe of trees.

McGonagall watched her two newest staff members as they spoke by the edge of the lake. She stood in the window, surprised that Draco Malfoy had done what she asked and gone to fetch Luna. She became suspicious when the far-minded girl took his hand and led him into the forest.

"Such comrade simply isn't possible." She muttered.

"You'd be surprise and which people and be quite close." one of the portraits closest to her murmured in response.

Luna showed Draco the beauty that surrounded him. She had him listen to the birdsong and a small creek, look up into the trees and see how the sunlight was streaked by the leaves. They wandered through the trees, looking for the little songbirds and crickets.

"See how clear the water is where the sun is?" Luna said, stopping by the creek. Draco looked closely, smiling at the random patch of the brightest sapphire blue among all of the dark blues and greens. Luna released his hand and sat on a rock near the little glimmering patch of light. Draco sat on the leaves next to her, resting his head on his bent knee, watching the sunlight reflect off of the ripples in the creek.

"We're always in the presence of some bit of beauty, we just sometimes move too quickly to eve see it." Luna said, leaning back on the rick to look up into the sky. Draco looked up at her and was caught by the sight of her lair turning golden in the sunlight. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was stretched into a smile.

"You bring beauty into the world." Draco Mumbled.

"Hmm?" Luna sad, lifting her head to look at the young man beside her.

"You bring a little bit of beauty into the world." Draco said, looking up. His face flushed as he spoke. "You showed me the beauty in everything, and now my world is that much more beautiful." Luna's face was scrunched as she thought on what Draco had said, smiling slowly.

"Thank you." She said, standing momentarily before placing herself down next to Draco on the dirt. She was much closer than before, actually within Draco's arm.

"We, ah, we can't really see the sun set from here." Draco gulped, feeling slightly uncomfortable so close to Luna. She turned her head slightly to regard Draco before nodding.

"My window had a really good view of it. Luna said, standing again. Draco stood as well, surprised again as she held his hand during their walk up to the castle.

Only making a quick stop at the kitchens to ask the house-elves for diner, they walked at a moderate pace up to Luna's suite. They tried to catch some dust floating in a sunbeam, Draco trying to grasp the particles saying that they would be bits of sunshine to hold in their hands. He gave up when he tripped and landed on his arm, twisting it behind him.

"Oh, it hurts, doesn't it?" Luna said. She helped Draco to his feet before holding his injured arm in tender hands as they now hurried back to her rooms. He nodded, noting that the bruise forming up his arm was going to be very black, and hard to hide. Luna sat him down on her window seat when they reached her rooms and went into a cupboard to get a small potion. Handing to him, she sat next to him, examining his arm.

"Luna, it doesn't hurt that much. It's just a bruise." Draco said, trying to get her to stop poking his arm before she turned it over. She glanced up at him, choose to ignore his words and continued to poke the darkening skin. Draco watched her carefully stroke her fingers over his arm, making sure that she touched every inch of his arm. She slowly turned his arm in her hands and stopped when she saw the skin burned with the shape of the dark mark. She slowly moved her fingers to trace the black lines, following the curve of the skull.

"You never wanted this." She said, turning her face up to his and forgetting of his bruise. Her blue eyes searched his grey as the sun set behind them, the colored lights displaying their last blaze of glory as it slipped into the night-time shades of blue, purple and black.

"Who would ever want something that made them an outcast?" Draco said, placing his hand under Luna's chin.

"I choose to be me." She said softly, staring desperately into his eyes.

"You still made friends." Draco said, blinking slowly and catching her hand.

"No one like you." She replied, her eyes filling with tears. "No one that would let me truly be who I wanted to be, only made assumptions of who I was."

"I like you for you." Draco whispered, "I love who you are."

"You can be so much more." Luna said. Draco nodded and pulled her by her chin closer to him.

"I love you, Luna."

"I-I love you too." She said, her voice breaking with her tears. Their lips met as they realized that they had been waiting for each other, waiting for someone who would always love them for who they were and look forward to the people they could be.

**Author's Note: well, this is what I can come up with when I am bored out of my skull at school. Maybe it's things like this that make everything a lot more fun.**

**Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed my sweet little story of finding the beauty in simple things and overcoming the ugliness of life. I enjoyed writing it, and getting reviews make me smile and realize that someone does care, just a little bit for the matters of the world. **


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